By Michael Gold TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan smartphone maker HTC Corp said it plans to slash costs by nearly a quarter and sell cheaper devices in a bid to bounce back to profit in October-December. Under pressure in a market dominated by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics, the company warned revenue for the fourth quarter will fall up to 15 percent from the previous quarter, slipping below analysts' estimates. Struggling to bolster what research firm Gartner estimates is a 2.6 percent share of the global smartphone market with its flagship One series, the company hired Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr earlier this year for a series of TV ads to promote its brand. "We're looking at broader products in this quarter...we aim for higher volume into 2014 that will give better profitability," company financial chief Chialin Chang said in the briefing, referring to more affordable smartphones.



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